KNOT Out knocked out his Carlton Mid Tamworth Cup Prelude opponents with a sizzling final burst at Tamworth yesterday, earning automatic entry into the April 27 $80,000 Carlton Mid Tamworth Cup (1400m) and eliciting a bold Cup promise from his stable.
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The seven-year-old bay gelding, starting at 7-1, swamped his rivals in the final 100m arriving with a startling burst to beat Oh My Papa (4-1) by a long neck with a nose to third-placed Mossamine (12-1). Race favourite Double Halo (3-1) was a close-up fourth.
Knot Out is trained by Paul Messara at Scone.
Stable foreman Barry Wintle was on hand yesterday and ecstatic with the gelding’s fifth race win.
“A great win but there was good speed on,” Wintle said.
“Andrew (Gibbons) was able to sit out the back and wait. He also made sure he knew he was here to race today.”
When assured he was an automatic entry into the Tamworth Cup in two Sundays, Wintle replied: “If he strikes a wet track, look out.
“He loves it wet.”
That Knot Out is racing at all is amazing.
“He’s had a fractured pelvis, two quartercracks in both feet and had two eye operations as well,” Wintle said of what has been only a 21-race career.
“He was a very good horse when he was young.
“He went to Brisbane but slipped when he came out of the barriers and fractured his pelvis.”
Knot Out’s win capped a good day for the Scone stable after Bird In The Heather flew late to register her first race win for her owner, Rob
Crosby.
The three-year-old filly, bred by Crosby at his Kansas Plains broodmare farm at Bithramere, was having just her second start after debuting at Gunnedah with a sixth to Shop Til You Drop on March 8.
Wintle believes the daughter of Southern Image has a bright future.
“She’s been a bit immature in the brain,” he said.
“At her first start she had a bit of a look around.
“She’s had six weeks between runs, got balloted out of a couple and then missed a couple here and there.
“Paul has poured the work into her in the meantime and she’s really thrived. The last couple of weeks she’s run some very good sectionals.
“We just asked Greg to get her some clear running today.”
Greg Ryan did that to continue his almost perfect strike rate for the stable and land the filly at 10-1.
“It’s upwards and onwards for her now,” Wintle said.
“Up in trip and hopefully in grade too.”
Scone trainers won five of the eight races between them yesterday as Greg Bennett also nailed a trifecta of winners when In A Wink, Solitaire Princess and Belannoro all won.
